


Something You Don't Know

by SleepingAshes



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, Assassins & Hitmen, Complicated Relationships, Developing Relationship, F/M, Hair-pulling, Minor Character Death, Near Death Experiences, Rough Sex, Smut, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2019-08-19 13:22:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16535354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SleepingAshes/pseuds/SleepingAshes
Summary: Mercury is an assassin. He thinks he's got everything in his life figured out until he begins to feel a little too attached to his roommate, Yang. Problem? She doesn't know he's an assassin.





	Something You Don't Know

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shipperoftrashyships](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shipperoftrashyships/gifts).



It was a dark, gloomy night in Vale. Mercury Black stayed close to the shadows as he followed his intended kill of the evening. Cinder had given him a file on Corsac Albain a few days ago and since then Mercury had been biding his time, waiting for the perfect moment to kill Corsac and finish his job.

Corsac entered a shady establishment, one Mercury was quite familiar with. The assassin waited outside for Corsac. From what Mercury knew about the place, Corsac would be back in about five minutes. He allowed himself drift for a moment and relax.

It was times like these he wondered if he would be in this position with or without his father’s interference. Of course Marcus had trained Mercury-- beaten the ways of an assassin into him since he could walk. But would he still be this way if Marcus had been a better man? Or what if Marcus had never been in his life to begin with?

Mercury was pulled out of his thoughts by a door opening and closing. Corsac was back with a bag in hand. Mercury followed him down the street until he reached an alleyway. He pulled Corsac away from view and down the alleyway, keeping a hand over the Faunus’ mouth to make sure he couldn’t scream for help.

Mercury dragged him further away from the streets then threw him against a wall. Corsac tried to reach for his weapon but Mercury was quicker, he kicked Corsac’s hand then drew a knife. He held the knife to the Faunus’ throat and smirked.

“Mercury Black,” Corsac hissed. “You and your boss should know better than to go after a member of the White Fang!”

“Cinder’s a risk taker but she’s no idiot.” Mercury said, “She knows the White Fang kicked you and your good for nothing brother out. You’re both free game now.”

“Adam wouldn’t have told--”

“Who said Adam was our informant, Corsac? Give us some credit, we aren’t going to march up to the high leader of the White Fang and ask who he recently excommunicated.” Mercury said, rolling his eyes. He held the knife closer against Corsac’s throat. “Say, what’s in the bag you got there.”

“Like I need to explain myself to you.” Corsac sneered.

“Excuse me? I’m the one with a knife, or was that stuff about Faunus seeing in the dark all lies? Tell me what’s in the bag and I might let you go.”

Corsac frowned.

“You wouldn’t.”

“You’re right.” Mercury said, an eerie smile on his face as he finally finished the job. A deep gash was cut into Corsac’s throat before the man could react. He stared with wide eyes as the blood poured from the wound but fell over lifelessly soon enough. Mercury let the body drop and put the knife away.

He hummed to himself as he picked up the bag Corsac had. Inside were Dust crystals-- quite a few. But why illegally trade Dust? Mercury didn’t really care to dig deeper but he figured he’d take it along with him just in case Cinder found a use for the Dust or information that Corsac had been involved with this activity at all.

He pocketed the crystals, got proof of a mission well done, and went on his way back to Junior’s, the base of operations for his group. He was greeted by Emerald and Neo, the latter of which simply waved to him as he walked into the club. He gave a halfhearted wave and made his way straight to where Cinder was; at the bar talking with Roman and Junior.

“Well, well. Look who’s back. Did the Faunus give you any troubles?” Cinder asked from where she sat, head resting in one hand with a drink in the other.

Mercury scoffed.

“You act like he was capable of being anything more than annoying.” Mercury said, tossing down a few photos of Corsac’s dead body onto the bar counter. “He’s done. Got a neat souvenir though. He was dabbling in some Dust trades before I killed him so naturally,”

Mercury took out the Dust and set it next to the pictures,

“I stole it.”

Roman smirked, picking up a crystal and inspecting it.

“Nothing extraordinary from the looks of it but not an unappreciated gesture.”

“I appreciate free Dust anytime.” Cinder said with a smile. “I’m glad you finished the job Mercury, I was...eager to have Corsac out of the way.”

She handed Mercury a generous amount of Lien for his work.

“I’ll contact you with your next assignment later tonight. I’m just waiting for my informant to get back to me.”

“Great.” Mercury took the Lien but before either could say anything, the sound of his scroll going off interrupted them. Mercury sighed and read through the message he’d received.

“Looks like that’s my cue to leave.”

“And what could be more important than your next assignment?” Cinder asked, though they both knew no malice was meant in her words. For once.

“Picking up Yang from work.”

“Your roommate, right?”

“Mmhm. I really can’t wait for her to get a job that’s, I don’t know, remotely close to where we live.”

Cinder chuckled.

“Aww it sounds like you almost care about her.”

“Please.” Mercury said, rolling his eyes. “I care about my gas money, not the blonde bimbo.”

“As I expect from you. You’re free to go.”

It didn’t take long to pick up Yang from her job at Ozpin’s diner. With it being so late traffic was hardly a big deal and, well, Mercury may have went over the speed limit to get there as quickly as possible. She seemed both pleased and surprised to see him so soon.

“Wow, that was only twenty minutes!” She mentioned as she got situated in the passenger's seat. “So how fast were you going?”

“Only thirty over the speed limit.”

“So you held back, is what you’re saying.”

“You know me well, blondie.” Mercury said smirking.

“I would hope I do, we’re roommates after all.”

Mercury had to stifle a laugh at that. Gods, if only she knew…

“Oh so I had a customer freak the fuck out on me today over some damn chicken nuggets.” She mentioned, “Like it’s fast food, grow up.”

“What was wrong with the nuggets?”

“We were out for the day. So he blew up over it.”

“I don’t know, Yang. Ozpin’s nuggets are the best in the city, I think there was some merit to his meltdown.” Mercury said sarcastically.

“Oh, sure.” Yang said, rolling her eyes. “How about you? Any fun stories at the bar today?”

“Nothing major,” Mercury said in a relaxed tone. “Had one difficult customer I had to take out, but other than that smooth sailing. I even got a bonus for handling the situation so well.”

“Sweet! No more delivery pizza this week then?”

“Don’t get too ahead of yourself.”

Yang pouted. Mercury secretly loved it when she pouted-- something about her face. It was funny. Endearing, even. She sighed and rested her head against the window, clearly tired from work.

“You know something?”

Mercury hummed in response.

“Even though you don’t drink, I can’t really picture you not working at Junior’s club. Like you gotta be the best bartender they have. You just...fit in with everyone there. I think it’s a good job for you.” Yang said, somewhat tiredly.

“...Yeah. I guess that makes sense.” Mercury said carefully. “I can’t really see myself doing anything else.”

Conversation was pretty nonexistent the rest of the way home. Mercury let Yang fall asleep on the way, even going the speed limit just so he limited the risk of waking her up. After the small struggle of getting her up the stairs to their apartment and in her own room, Mercury checked his scroll.

He wasn’t surprised to see a message from Cinder saying his next target was Fennec Albain.

~*~

Emerald shifted from where she was next to Mercury. He groaned, glaring at her. She shifted again, making him resist the urge to push her off the roof they were on. Spying on a target was something Mercury could do perfectly by himself. Pairing him with someone for an assassination wasn’t something new to him but it just had to be Emerald, didn’t it? She hated waiting.

“Emerald I swear to the Gods.”

“Hmm?” She teased, elbowing him as she shifted this time.

Ok that had to be on purpose.

“I will throw you off this building and stage it as an accident.”

“Cinder will know.”

“I’m a great liar, she’ll never suspect a thing.”

Emerald stuck her tongue out at him, not that he could really see it. His eyes were glued to their target. The binoculars he he was using prevented him from seeing her childish antics from the corners of his eyes.

“He’s finishing up a deal and then he’ll be alone.” Mercury said, his tone all business this time. “Get ready to--”

In a moment the mission was ruined. Not by any fault of Mercury or Emerald’s. No, they couldn’t have anticipated the target being sniped from who knows where. Mercury was stunned, eyes wide. There goes a nice evening, and a nice paycheck…

“What the fuck!” Mercury yelled, throwing the binoculars aside. “What the fuck was that!”

“Mercury get down you fucking moron--”

Emerald tried to grab onto her partner and pull him down but he shook her off, eyes scanning the rooftops for something, anything that could make sense of what just happened.

“I see something.” He muttered. “I’m gonna kill that bastard.”

Mercury didn’t wait for Emerald’s protests before he took off. He saw movement a few roofs down from where he and Em were stationed. He could catch up quickly with his prosthetics. He used the explosive rounds in his boots to propel him over the gaps in the rooftops so he could catch up to his new enemy quickly.

It didn’t take long for him to catch up and tackle the person down. He was almost instantly shoved off and kicked in the gut.

“Shit-!”

In a movement too quick for Mercury to follow, the enemy was suddenly behind him with a blade to his neck. Not an ordinary blade. A scythe.

“Branwen weaponry.” Mercury noted aloud.

It didn’t get a rise from the other assassin, but Mercury doubted it would. The Branwen’s were a disciplined and expert tribe of assassins.

“Sorry about your target.” A gruff voice said from behind him. “But I promise you, he was my kill first. Maybe next time you won’t be so unlucky.”

“Fuck you.”

“That all you got? Say, who do you work for?”

Mercury frowned.

“None of your business.”

The Branwen assassin held the scythe just a bit closer to Mercury’s neck, close enough that he could feel the blade cutting into his skin. Well this was just a fantastic way to end the evening…

“I could kill you if you don’t tell me.” The assassin was only met with silence. “You’re stubborn. I don’t have time for stubborn tonight.”

The scythe was gone and before Mercury could react, so was the enemy. It was like he’d vanished into thin air. Mercury didn’t dwell on the confusion though, he was far too consumed by rage to care how the Branwen man had gotten away so quickly.

After a quick and rather humiliating talk with Cinder, he’d returned home and all but kicked the door down with how mad he was when he’d come in.

“Hey, we only have one door!” Yang scolded him. “What the hell is your problem tonight?”

“Bad fucking night, don’t wanna talk about it unless you can magically fix everything.”

Yang frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. She gave Mercury a stern look from where she stood.

“Beating up our apartment isn’t going to help. I think it wouldn’t hurt to try talking about it.”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“You work at a bar, which I frequent often. What isn’t there to understand?”

Mercury looked about ready to bite Yang’s head off.

“Fine, fine. No talking then.” Yang said, sighing. “What else can I do?”

“Nothing. You can’t do anything.”

“...Look I can’t fix whatever went wrong today but I can at least try to help you get your anger out. We could go down to the gym and fight it out or something.”

“I don’t trust myself not to break your arm, honestly.” Mercury said, flopping onto their couch and taking a deep sigh. He appreciated Yang for trying but honestly what could she do to help? She had no idea what he really did and it would do him no good to spill that secret just because of one bad night.

He did like her idea of getting the anger out though. Then he could think clearly about what to do now that some damn Branwen was on their territory killing their targets. But what could he really do that didn’t involve snapping someone’s neck?

He was so deep in his thoughts he didn’t process Yang moving closer to him until she was already next to him, one hand placed dangerously high on his thigh. He raised an eyebrow and looked over at her.

“There’s other ways to get anger out.”

“...There is.” Mercury said slowly, eyeing that hand that was ever so close to a certain area. “Where’s this coming from though?”

“You’re hot, I’m horny, it’s been a while. You look like you need a good fuck, honestly.”

“Not gonna argue with that. Bed. Now.”

Yang smirked and lead the way to his bedroom-- he couldn’t help but think the only reason they were in his room was to spare her own sheets. That was fine, he wasn’t really going to complain. Besides depending on how successful this little experiment was he might have the chance to ruin hers next.

Yang wasted no time in undressing, tossing her sweat pants and tank top off to the side. Mercury couldn’t help but notice she not only bypassed a bra that day but panties as well. He didn’t realize he mouthed “nice” until Yang was laughing at him.

“Shut up,” He snapped but there was no real bite to it.

He decided to get a move on with it and threw off his own shirt. He pretended in his own mind that he didn’t hesitate at the pants, but once they were equally nude it didn’t matter to him as much. Her eyes were wandering over every part of his body hungrily. He smirked and stood with his hands on his hips.

“Like what you see?”

“Fuck yeah I do.” Yang said, eyebrows raised as her eyes were glued to a specific part of him. Any other man may have been flustered by her but really? He just grew more confident.

“Hey, eyes up here blondie.”

She slapped him playfully on the arm.

“Shut up and get on the bed already.”

Oh so she wanted to take charge? Mercury let her for now and reclined on the bed, hands behind his head. He looked at her smugly, waiting for her to make a move. She leaned down between his legs and took his cock in her hand, giving it a few strokes to get him warmed up.

“You know what you’re doing right?” Mercury teased, voice only wavering slightly from the pleasure beginning to grow in his groin. His eyes met with hers, clearly challenging her in the moment.

Yang maintained eye contact as she leaned down fully and took his cock into her mouth, slowly and bit by bit. Mercury moaned at the sight of her. She began bobbing her head, tongue tracing the underside of his cock while she sucked him. Her eyes never drew away from his-- the pair stuck in a challenge now. Whoever looked away first lost.

Mercury let himself enjoy it. He could definitely win this little challenge but he’d let her think she had him for now.

Yang pulled off of his cock and smirked.

“Enjoying yourself?” She asked, slightly out of breath. Her face was flushed and though it was hard to see from this angle, Mercury swore he saw her snake a hand underneath herself. Was she turned on already?

Mercury smirked.

“Are you?”

As if to try to remind Mercury she was the one in control currently, Yang quickly licked a stripe up his slit and moved to suck on his sensitive head. He moaned, louder than he meant to.

“Fuuuck…” Mercury bit his lip and clenched the sheets of his bed tightly.

“You can put those hands to use, buddy.” Yang said with a wink. “I’m not fragile. I can handle a little rough play if you follow me.”

Mercury moved and carded a hand through her long blonde hair gently at the invitation. She practically leaned into his hand at the feeling. He smirked, grabbing a handful and yanking her hair roughly.

The loud cry of pleasure he received was almost enough to make him lose it right then and there.

“Get sucking.” He demanded in a low voice, “We aren’t done yet.”

As if to remind her, he guided her back to his cock, watching her blush at the way it hit against her cheek. She moaned, from the his actions or her hand rapidly moving underneath her he wasn’t sure, but he didn’t care. Desperation was a good look on her.

She mouthed at his sac, sucking and licking for a moment before moving back to his cock. She whined around it as she sucked and licked, giving Mercury the show of his life. Only when she felt his dick pulsing in her mouth did she pull off, slow enough to leave a string of saliva connecting her lips to the tip of his cock.

Mercury breathed in deeply at the sight.

“Gods, you’re fucking hot.”

Yang let out a weak laugh.

“I know, right?” She said, voice slightly raspy. “You’re not bad yourself.”

“Wanna cum in you.”

“Condom?”

As if on auto pilot, Mercury reached to his bedside table and rummaged through it until he found a condom. He occupied himself with putting it on while Yang made herself comfortable on the bed next to him. He peaked over to find she was still fondling herself; one hand groping her breast with the other three fingers deep inside her pussy.

“I bet you taste amazing.” He said, leaning over to give her a quick bite on the neck.

She shuddered.

“Next time you can taste all you want. Right now I just wanna get fucked.”

Next time? Good. He could go for a next time.

“On your back, blondie.”

Yang nodded, moving to pull her fingers out of herself. Mercury grabbed her hand and pulled it to his mouth, licking her juices off her fingers. She looked at him through half lidded eyes, biting down on her lip to stifle a moan.

“I was right. You taste amazing.”

With that, Mercury wasted no time. He pulled back and positioned himself between Yang’s legs, holding them open as he guided his cock inside her. She tensed for a moment before relaxing around him and groaning at the intrusion.

“Shit that’s good…” She breathed.

“Taking it you still aren’t fragile?”

“Go for it Merc, I can handle whatever you throw at me.”

With permission, Mercury didn’t hold back. He pulled out and slammed back into her. The action earned him a loud moan from Yang. She tossed her head back and quickly wrapped her arms around his neck. He he smirked and began a quick, rough pace.

With her neck exposed he had no troubles sucking and biting bruises into her skin. She seemed to have a sensitive neck from how she was acting. It only turned him on more.

His hands went to her hips, holding her still as he hammered into her. She writhed against his hold, shouting in pleasure. Her thighs were shaking, he could tell it wouldn’t take much longer for her to be pushed over the edge.

Doing his best to keep the quick pace, he slid a hand between them and rubbed at her clit the best he could from their current angle. A few quick circling motions were all it took to send Yang head first into waves of pleasure. She bit down on his shoulder to keep herself from being too loud-- Mercury did not expect her to be a screamer but Gods, even muffled he would be shocked if the neighbors didn’t hear her.

The combination of her tightening around him and the pain from the bite did him in. He held her hips close and came, groaning deeply.

After a moment, Mercury pulled out and tossed the condom. He flopped back onto the bed, feeling extremely pleased. Yang smiled.

“Feeling better?”

“Fuck yeah I am.”

“Glad to be of service.”

Yang stretched before standing and leaning down to gather her clothes. Mercury frowned. Strangely, he didn’t want her to leave. He sat up and eyed her. Before she could get her pants back on, he slapped her ass. She jumped, looking back at him with a glare.

“Excuse me?!”

“What?” Mercury said in his best innocent tone, which wasn’t very convincing.

He snaked an arm around her waist.

“M’tired. Lay down.”

Yang gave him a curious look.

“...Alright.” She said, opting not to question him. 

He laid back down, leaving room for her. She snuggled up close to him and relaxed as she felt an arm wrap around her, keeping her close. The pair fell asleep like that, unaware that tonight would change everything.

~*~

More missions ruined by the Branwen assassin led to more angry nights for Mercury, which in turn led to more sex with Yang. Their relationship was slowly morphing into something more than just roommates but neither were eager to put a label on it quite yet. Mercury didn’t need news of this reaching Cinder and Yang was busy with work and school, he couldn’t blame her for not knowing exactly what she wanted out of him.

Either way he would never be able to provide a perfectly normal relationship for her. A mind in the back of his mind told him she wouldn’t want it any other way, but he ignored that.

He tried to stay focused on work instead of thinking about the possibilities and what ifs with Yang. It was easy to forget Yang when he was mad, which right now he was seething. The Branwen left a trail of corpse’s this time. Mercury swore he was playing with Cinder and the group.

This time though they’d come somewhat prepared. Neo and Emerald were going to set the Branwen assassin up and Mercury would kill him. With the two girls setting up illusions it should be easy to toy with him until Mercury delivered the killing blow.

Mercury waited for his cue, watching from a distance as the girls drew him closer. He was eager to finally make sure that Branwen got what was coming to him.

Just as it seemed the enemy assassin fell for one of the illusions, Mercury made his move. He managed to land the first blow; a kick to the Branwen’s spine, but before Mercury could do more, he was grabbed and tossed into Neo. 

Neo stumbled backwards into a brick wall of one of the nearby buildings. She hit it with a thud, making Mercury wince. He’d have to thank her for unintentionally cushioning the blow. Emerald went to strike the enemy assassin but she was easily dodged and hit with the blunt end of his scythe.

Mercury could tell he thought he’d won this encounter as he turned his back and made a run for it. With Emerald and Neo down, he really should have waited and regrouped but he couldn’t. He was sick and tired of this man ruining everything for them.

He charged after the Branwen, tackling him into a wall. He was shoved away but recovered quickly and landed a punch to the face.

He heard a quiet ‘click’ and barely had time to react before a bullet hit him in the gut. Just how many things could that scythe of his do?! Mercury flew backwards but wasn’t too terribly injured thanks to his aura.

“You’re in over your head.” The Branwen assassin said.

“Oh fuck off!” Mercury shouted, charging at him head on.

The enemy easily evaded-- or so he thought. Mercury struck him from behind, taking him off guard. He’d definitely need to thank Neo now. He didn’t wait for her or Emerald to get too involved, he kept up his assault. He kicked the enemy in vital areas, probably hard enough to break his ribs even through his aura.

“Fuck…!”

Mercury laughed at the man’s pain.

“Any last words?”

“Yeah, actually.”

Mercury frowned, clearly getting irritated all over again.

“You might wanna move to the left.”

“What?”

“Left.”

“What are you--”

Before Mercury could finish his sentence, a series of unlucky events occured. A lamp post fell over, knocking into another, which then fell into wires that caused everything connected to it to begin falling as well. Mercury narrowly avoided being crushed by dodging left but he was completely cut off from Neo and Emerald now.

In his shock, the enemy assassin caught him off guard and hit him hard in the back of the head with the blunt end of his scythe.

He fell over, only avoiding hitting concrete face first when his attacker grabbed him by the hair and yanked him onto his knees. He felt a hand remove the mask he wore to hide the bottom half of face.

“Holy shit. You’re just a kid.”

“I’m twenty three years old, jackass.”

“Younger than me by a mile.” The Branwen had a different look in his eyes, something akin to pity. “You’re Marcus Black’s kid, aren’t you?”

“The fuck does it matter to you?”

“People were looking for you after your dad died.”

Mercury glared.

“People were trying to keep you away from this life.”

“Yeah? Well people failed.” Mercury said through clenched teeth.

“It isn’t too late for you, kid.”

Mercury wanted to laugh, he really did, but he was feeling drained. This whole encounter was a mess. He wanted tonight to be over but he had to deal with this nagging pain before the night could end.

“What do you want me to say to that?” Mercury asked in a controlled tone, keeping his eyes glued to the other man.

“That you’ll stop killing for money. That you won’t stay on this path for the rest of your life. I mean it, it isn’t too late for you to change this.”

The man was lowering his guard, taking pity on him.

“...I’m in too deep. I can’t just run.

The man kneeled before him, sighing. He took his own mask off and ran a hand through his hair roughly. Mercury committed the man’s face to memory. This Branwen-- he’d been the pain in his side for so long now. He was never going to forget that face. He’ll never forget the satisfaction he was going to get when he finally killed him.

“I can help you with that, get you away from whatever people roped you into this.”

“How can I trust you to help? I don’t even know your name.”

“Qrow Branwen. You know the Branwen’s have in’s everywhere in the country. We can get you set up somewhere nice and you’ll be protected.”

“I appreciate the offer.” Mercury said, managing to subtly reach for the same knife he’d used to kill Corsac and Fennec oh so long ago now. He wasted no time plunging it into Qrow Branwen’s side, twisting it as deep as he could. “Really, I do appreciate the offer but I’ll pass.” Mercury sneered.

He took the knife out and plunged it back into Qrow’s gut, smirking when the man cried out in pain. A look of betrayal and confusion fell over Qrow’s face to which Mercury just laughed at.

“Aura cutting blades, courtesy of the White Fang and Adam Taurus. Hard to find but damn, are they useful for sad fucks like you.” Mercury kneeled next to Qrow, twirling the blade in his hand. “Here’s a neat piece of advice; not everyone wants to be saved.”

Qrow opened his mouth to say something but quickly shut it, scowling.

“What? You mad you couldn’t save some poor abused kid? Newsflash asshole, I would be here either way. My dad wasn’t a factor in the fact I like watching assholes like you bleed out and die--”

Before Mercury knew it, he was being hit by something and knocked to the ground, unconscious. Qrow only moved his body out from underneath yet another fallen lamp post before mysteriously vanishing.

~*~

Mercury woke up in the back of Junior’s, dazed and confused. Luckily he wasn’t terribly injured, but he was definitely still feeling sore from practically being crushed. Emerald and Neo explained that Qrow escaped but he’d bled far too much for him to have gotten far. He probably bled out in a ditch somewhere, which was good enough for Cinder at the moment.

Mercury returned home after that. He just wanted to go back to sleep and hope tomorrow he didn’t feel like he’d bit hit with a car. Unfortunately his life wasn’t so simple. He was greeted with Yang on the phone, practically shouting at the person on the other line.

“Ruby, what do you mean life support?! What happened!”

Mercury approached her slowly, raising an eyebrow. She relaxed a bit when she saw him.

“Ruby, calm down. Mercury just got home, I’m gonna see if I can get a ride there. Ok, ok. Tell dad I’ll be there soon.”

So much for sleeping the pain off…

“Mercury-- jesus, what happened to you? You look like shit.” Yang said, frowning. She was clearly worried.

“A fight broke out at work. Nevermind that, what’s got you so worked up?”

“My uncle’s in the hospital. Ruby’s a mess, she said something about life support? He showed up on dad’s doorstep looking awful, I don’t know…” She sighed heavily, running a hand over her face. “I don’t understand any of this.”

Mercury sighed. He didn’t know much about Yang’s family but he knew she and her sister were close. It didn’t take much to connect the dots that she obviously cared about her uncle.

“I’ll drive you to the hospital.”

“Thank you… Gods, Mercury, thank you so much.”

Things were a mess at the hospital. Yang’s sister and father were there with Ruby visibly taking this worse than anyone else. But Mercury knew Yang well enough to tell she was putting on a tough act right now. The second she was alone she wouldn’t seem so strong.

Yang didn’t stay for long. Her uncle had surgery, he was recovering but unconscious. Mercury offered to take her back the next day so she could get some rest and wind down from the stress of the evening.

When the pair returned to their apartment Yang finally crumbled. Mercury comforted her through it, well, as best he could. He wasn’t exactly the best at emotions and with the way his head was still pounding from the fight earlier he really just wanted to go to bed. But he wouldn’t leave Yang alone to deal with this. They were...friends? Friends at least. Good friends even.

Yang cried for a while until she just couldn’t anymore. Mercury rubbed her back and held her, trying to at least make her feel less alone. He’d done similar things with Emerald on bad days with Cinder and it worked well enough then…

“You good now, blondie?”

“Think so…” Yang said, sniffling. “Ugh, I must look disgusting right now.”

“Not the worst I’ve seen, don’t worry.”

“I’m flattered.” Yang tried to say sarcastically but it fell flat. “...Thanks.”

“For what?”

Yang shrugged.

“Being there. You didn’t have to do that.”

“I’d be more of a dick than I already am if I just left you like that.”

“You’re really not all that bad.” Yang muttered. “...You’re an asshole but I kind of like that about you, I guess.”

Mercury stayed quiet, not sure what to say to that.

“I like a lot of things about you.”

“Yang…” Mercury sighed. “I don’t think now is a good time.”

“I know, I know just… I’m overwhelmed and I don’t know what to do…” Yang’s voice cracked. She covered her face with her hands and took a shaky breath. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

“But I am! I’m sorry! I don’t know what the hell to do or say or--”

Mercury gently pulled her hands from her face and got her attention. She stopped and stared at him through teary eyes. He kept a straight face as he spoke.

“Yang you don’t have to know what to do and say every time. Sometimes shit throws you off balance but you’ll pick yourself up and work through it. Things will be ok, but right now it’s ok to let yourself just feel.”

He didn’t expect Yang to close the distance between them and kiss him. He didn’t expect her to pull him close to her, press herself up against him, and run her hands through his hair like she did. 

“Make me feel, Mercury.” She whispered against his lips. “Please just make me feel.”

“Is this what you really want?”

“ _ Yes _ ,”

~*~

When Yang’s uncle was finally allowed visitors, Merc took the day off so he could get her there first thing in the morning. The past few days were...enlightening for his relationship with Yang. She obviously meant something to him, something more than he’d ever intended. It...wasn’t all that bad.

He held her hand while they walked into the hospital, trying to comfort her but dropped it once they caught sight of Ruby and Taiyang. They’d already seen her uncle apparently. Mercury could see Yang deflate at that but she hid it as best she could.

Taiyang and Ruby left Yang after a moment, saying they were going to go get something to eat and come back to talk with her later.

“...They already saw him.”

Mercury shrugged,

“So? You can still talk to him.”

“...Can you come with me?”

“Me? I, uh… Sure. Sure, I can do that.”

Yang gave him an appreciative smile and led the way. She talked about her uncle a little, saying he was a funny guy and she was sure that Mercury would get along with him. Really Mercury didn’t pay much attention until they were nearly at his room.

“I’m used to uncle Qrow doing dumb things but he really did it this time.” Yang said sighing.

Mercury froze. Did he hear that right?

He was absolutely not prepared when Yang opened the door. Qrow Branwen, the man he’d tried to kill was her uncle. Uncle Qrow. Qrow’s eyes immediately fell on him, flickering with emotion. Mercury could see both rage and confusion hidden beneath whatever act he was about to put on for Yang’s sake.

“...Who’s this?” Came out, despite Qrow’s better judgement.

“Oh, sorry I didn’t tell you… This is Mercury Black, my roommate.” Yang said, completely unaware of the tension growing in the room.

“...Nice to meet you.” Qrow forced out.

“You too.” Mercury said, feeling awkward.

He let Yang take the lead in the conversation, barely saying anything unless he was spoken to by Qrow or Yang. He could tell Qrow wanted to break his neck at the least, and honestly? Mercury was tempted to do the same to Qrow to save his own ass in the situation. After a while of smalltalk, Qrow faked a coughing fit so he could ask Yang to leave the room and get him so water.

The second those doors closed, Mercury entered Hell.

“What the fuck are you doing near my niece?” Qrow seethed, trying his best to sit up.

Mercury averted his eyes, feeling strangely guilty.

“She’s just my roommate.”

“Just your-- don’t fuck with me. I know Yang, I know her like she’s my own kid and I’m not blind to the way she’s looking at you. Now answer me with the fucking truth this time. What the fuck are you doing near my niece?”

Mercury stared at him in shock. He was really this protective over Yang?

“She’s my roommate. She trusts me enough to be here. I didn’t hurt her or anything so calm down--”

“Calm down?! She has no idea about what a fucking monster you are!”

“She doesn’t know about you either, does she?”

He didn’t miss the pained look that came across Qrow’s face.

“I do what I do to protect her and Ruby. To keep Raven and that fucking tribe away from those girls. What do you do it for? The rush you get when you kill someone?” Qrow spat. “Stay away from my niece or I swear to every God in this world I will kill you.”

“I can’t do that.” Mercury said, frowning.

Not only would suddenly leaving disrupt his cover life, it would definitely hurt Yang. She was already going through a rough time, she didn’t deserve to have anything else happen right now. Qrow didn’t seem to view it that way though. His glare got dangerous.

“You wanna die, kid?”

“Leaving would hurt Yang. I don’t want that.”

Qrow held his glare for a moment before closing his eyes and leaning back against the bed, clearly tired of this conversation.

“...Don’t tell me you actually care about her.”

“I think I do.”

“You think.” Qrow scoffed. “I need a fucking drink.”

Mercury stayed silent. What was he supposed to say? Sorry?

“If you ever hurt her or get her involved in this shit--”

“You’ll kill me, got it.”

“Fucking superb.”

~*~

Business was slow for Cinder’s group. Their cover business was booming but actual hits were down horribly since Adam Taurus was in Vale. Business was always shaky with the White Fang so Cinder decided not to take too many clients while they were in town. It was good for their truce but bad for Mercury’s sanity. If he had to genuinely bartend one more damn night at Junior’s…

Well, while business was slow he had plenty of time to spend not hunting and killing people now and he’d chosen to spend most of that time with Yang. Qrow’s….recovery went well. Things were tense and every day Mercury stayed near Yang was another day closer to his untimely demise according to Qrow.

Honestly despite the constant threats from Qrow he’d never been happier. Mercury was shocked that spending time with Yang made him feel so much but it did. Unfortunately things never seem to go smoothly.

He and Yang were going out with her friends more often now. Usually Blake, Weiss, and Ruby. Sometimes Mercury made Emerald join, just to annoy her. They were just finishing up what Yang had affectionately called a “double date” with Blake and Sun though when Mercury began to feel something was off.

He knew the feeling of being watched and someone had definitely been trailing them since they met up with Blake earlier that evening. Mercury kept his cool but eventually asked Yang to borrow her scroll, claiming he’d left his at home.

He went through her contacts until he reached Qrow.

“Yang? What’s up?”

“You can stop following us, old man.” Mercury snapped.

“Mercury?” Qrow sounded genuinely confused. “What are you talking about? Where’s Yang?”

“Don’t play dumb with me.”

“Where is Yang?” Qrow asked, sounding more urgent than before.

Shit. He wasn’t the one following them.

“Yang is with Blake and Sun. Someone’s following us. I assumed it was you but…”

“Fucking damn it.” Qrow swore. “Who did you piss off?”

“I love how you assume this is my fault.”

“Yang isn’t the one involved with Cinder Fall.”

“Yang’s related to you, maybe you’re the one who pissed someone off.”

Mercury could almost hear Qrow roll his eyes over the phone.

“No sane person would mess with someone under Branwen protection.”

It was true and Mercury knew that. He thought back to everything he’d done the past few weeks. No targets left unhandled, no witnesses. Nothing was wrong on his end. Next to no one knew his face. No one should be able to tell he was with Yang so… was it something Yang did? Did Yang get involved with someone else involved in all this?

“I’m gonna do some digging.” Mercury muttered. “I need to get back or it’ll be suspicious for the person who’s watching us.”

“If you let anything happen to Yang, I’ll make you regret it.”

“Yeah, yeah… Spare me the threats.”

Mercury hung up and went back to the group, doing a great job at appearing everything was normal but now he couldn’t help but feel like everyone they passed was watching them. He paid close attention to Yang’s behavior but nothing was off. She seemed fully relaxed, completely unaware someone was watching.

This went on for a week. He’d go out with Yang, he’d feel eyes on them. No matter what he did he couldn’t find any clues on the person trailing them. This guy was good, that was certain. So Mercury would just have to be better.

To say he was stalking Yang was...well, not inaccurate. When he wasn’t already out with her he arranged his schedule so he could at least be close by. Only to catch a glimpse of whoever was trailing Yang or gather information on why she would be followed anyways. He may or may not have pulled some strings to get Emerald to look into things for him as well…

Yang was supposed to be off work tonight, so Mercury went to Junior’s hoping Emerald had found something of use. He spotted her immediately and went over to her, taking a seat at the bar.

“Got anything?” He asked in greeting.

“A thing or two that paints a not so pretty picture for your roommate.”

Mercury frowned.

“What did she do?”

“She didn’t do anything but be friends with Blake Belladonna.” Emerald explained, shrugging. “Adam Taurus is following her himself. You need to stay out of this one.”

“Adam’s gonna kill her.” Mercury realized aloud. “For what? Being close to Blake?”

Emerald nodded.

If that were true, Yang was only the beginning. Sun, Weiss, Ruby-- they were all in danger. Not that Mercury had quite the soft spot for any of them that he did for Yang but...well, it would make a mess if they all were killed by the White Fang. It would get Qrow Branwen involved too if Yang and Ruby died. He could easily start a war with the White Fang.

“Cinder wants us to stay out of the White Fang’s business.” Emerald reminded him.

“No can do.”

“She’s not gonna be happy to hear that.”

“She’s not gonna find out because you wouldn’t tell a soul about what I’m about to do, right?” Mercury asked, giving her a look.

Emerald considered his words for a moment.

“You owe me.”

“How much?”

“Oh you owe me a lot more than money, Merc. Well...if you live. No go on, go try to fight Adam. Just don’t come to me when you get your ass kicked and bleed out.”

Mercury wasted no time. He left the club and immediately dialed Yang’s number on his scroll. She picked up after a few rings.

“Hey Mercury, what’s up?”

“Where are you?”

“Uhh… Walking to Blake’s why?”

Mercury cursed to himself.

“I need you to stay on the phone with me until you get there.”

“Mercury is everything ok?”

“No, it isn’t. You’re being followed.”

Yang fell into a shocked silence. He could imagine the look on her face.

“...What are you talking about?”

“Yang this is going to sound crazy but… A member of the White Fang is trailing you. He’s going to try to kill you.”

“What the fuck. How do you know this? What the fuck is going on?” Yang sounded progressively more panicked.

“Look I uh...haven’t been honest with you about a few things. Just keep moving and I’ll explain when you get to Blake’s--”

Mercury heard a sharp scream-- Yang’s-- and a thud. He bolted in the direction he knew Yang was in, wasting no more time. Over the scroll he could hear a struggle taking place. Yang was putting up a fight but if it really was Adam following her, she didn’t have long. After another scream, the scroll cut off.

Mercury was moving purely out of instinct. He tossed his scroll aside and focused on moving as quickly as possible, taking every short cut he could think to get to the general area Yang was at. It didn’t take long for him to get close enough, but he was worried he was too late. He looked around, looking for any sign of a struggle in the area.

He found Yang’s broken scroll on the sidewalk and froze. There was blood staining the sidewalk and it didn’t take a genius for him to know it had to be Yang’s. He followed the trail of blood into an alleyway, almost scared of what would be at the end of it. He heard noise as he grew closer, though at this point he wasn’t sure if it was his own heart pounding or not.

He finally found Yang, beaten bloody and only being held up by Adam’s grip on her hair. Mercury felt his blood boil. Adam seemed to sense him there and turned to him.

“Mercury Black.” He greeted. “You work for Cinder, right? You should no better than to interfere with my business. Leave.”

Mercury stood there for a second, looking at Yang. She was still conscious somehow, looking at him with a mixture of fear and confusion. He tore his eyes away from her to glare at Adam.

“No can do.”

“Excuse me?” Adam said, dropping Yang and turning to face Mercury fully. “I said leave!”

Adam went to grab for his sword but Mercury wasn’t scared. He readied himself for a fight, glaring at the Faunus.

“I’m not letting you kill her.”

“Then I’ll just have to kill you first.”

Adam charged at Mercury, blade in hand. He was quick, Mercury had to give him that one. He almost cut him, but Mercury managed to dodge. He kicked at Adam’s legs but Adam seemed to anticipate the attack, blocking easily.

Mercury pulled out his knife, knowing it wouldn’t match up against Adam’s blade but if he could just land a few blows with it…

Adam didn’t seem like he was going to give Mercury the change. His defense was going to be extremely hard to break through. Everything Mercury threw at him, Adam either dodged or countered. After a while, Mercury knew he wasn’t going to win on his own. Adam was on another level.

Adam caught him off guard, kicking his knife out of his hand and forcing him to his knees. He kicked Mercury in the face for good measure before holding his sword at Mercury’s throat. Mercury thought back to the last time he was in a similar position. Unlucky him, Qrow wasn’t here to make an idiot of this time around. There was no way Adam would be talked out of killing him. He was done for.

“To think Cinder hired a poor excuse of an assassin like you.” Adam taunted.

Mercury wanted to say something snappy for his last words, but nothing came to him. All he thought about was how dumb he’d been to get involved in this situation. He was going to die because of Yang. Strangely though? He was ok with that. Maybe dying before he really had to confront his feelings for Yang was the best thing that could happen.

“Just do it.” Mercury muttered.

Before Adam could finish the job, a knife was being plunged into his back. Adam shouted in pain, dropping his sword and stumbling to his knees. Mercury stared in shock. Yang was barely able to keep herself up but she pulled the knife out from Adam’s back and shoved it into the back of his neck.

“Yang stop!” Mercury shouted, rushing to her side and keeping her from stabbing Adam again.

“He was going to kill you!” Yang nearly screamed, “He was going to kill me! What am I supposed to do!”

“Let me handle it.” Mercury said, trying to sound calming. “You don’t have to do this. Let me take care of it.”

~*~

Things were quiet in Yang’s hospital room. A few days had passed since Adam Taurus died. Yang felt...guilty, for hurting someone like that but Mercury made sure he was the one who finished Adam off. She didn’t need someone’s death on her hands even if Adam deserved every minute of suffering he’d gotten.

The pair hadn’t quite talked out what happened yet but Yang hadn’t told Mercury to leave, so he stayed. Qrow had come by and talked to her, explained everything that he’d been hiding. Mercury knew his secrets were out of the bag too after that conversation. Mercury knew it was only a matter of time before Yang either questioned him herself or kicked him out.

He wasn’t eager for either one.

Yang sighed, shifting in the hospital bed and catching Mercury’s attention. The pair held eye contact for a moment before Yang looked away. Mercury frowned but said nothing.

“...So...Mercury.” Yang said, quietly.

“Yeah?”

“All that stuff...about you being an assassin. And Qrow…”

“It’s true.”

Yang frowned.

“You never told me.”

“I couldn’t.”

She nodded slowly but didn’t seem any happier.

“Would you have ever told me?”

“...Maybe one day.”

“Was everything a lie?” Yang asked hesitantly. “Not just your job but was everything with me just part of your cover?”

“No.” Mercury said immediately. “I wish it was, but it wasn’t. I wouldn’t have tried to fight Adam if it was all just a cover for me.”

“So I do mean something to you?”

“More than I’m comfortable with you knowing right now.”

Yang relaxed just a little bit.

“At least that was real…” Yang muttered. “...I don’t want that part of it to end.”

“I don’t either.”

“Is there a way we can make this work?”

Mercury thought for a moment. It wouldn’t be easy. If anyone found out about her, she’d just be a liability. But...he was willing to try. For her.

“Yeah. Yeah, I think we can make it work.”

For the first time in days he saw Yang smile.

“You’re a big softy deep down, you know that right?”

“Only for you, blondie.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for being patient for this fic to be done Ships! I hope you like it!


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